Neither Enemy Nor Friend
by Cytanya
Summary: In this prologue we drop you into the middle of the action as two legendary agents infiltrate the same place at the same time unbeknownst to each other.


The odds weren't in his favor; Sam was used to it. Good thing, too. 12 hostiles in a 3-6 formation created a half circle around Fisher's cover. Sam readied his Five-seveN & used the C-More dot sight to double tap one of the tangos who ran out of ammo & didn't bother to take cover to reload.

"Amateur..." Sam quipped.

Contrary to Sam's jab, these guys were far from amateur. Aside from having backgrounds in various agencies ranging from the IDF, SAS, & Delta Force; each member extensively studied the tactics of the so-called "Greatest fighting man of the 20th Century", Big Boss.

This didn't go unnoticed. Sam was aware of Big Boss & the legends that usually accompany his mention. And, though he'd never admit it, Sam tweaked his Krav-Maga to incorporate parts of the CQC style made famous by the legend in the 60s and 70s.

The enemy force continued their assault, completely unaware that their security had been overridden & the door 100 feet behind them had opened.

"Otacon... Have you ID'd the other intruder yet?"

Solid Snake entered, took cover behind a weapons crate & went over his internal checklist:

"11 hostiles. 1 down. H&K G36C assault rifles. SIG P226 sidearms."

"Otacon!" Snake growled in an annoyed manner.

"I hear you, Snake. Geez..." Hal responded. "No ID yet..."

"Damn. Alright, I'm moving in."

"Grim. One more down & I'm almost out of ammo. I need an exit ASAP."

The enemy force was closing in just as Grim came in over Sam's commo: "Alright, Sam. Door should be open"

Sam fired 2 of his last 5 rounds, taking the hostile number down to 9, and giving him room to make it through the now open door way & into a long corridor. Snake gave chase, picking up a G36C from a fallen enemy.

"Nothing like a little OSP; especially when the enemy has equipment like this." Snake said with an enthusiastic dryness.

"Snake..." Otacon chimed in ".. that hallway leads to what appears to be a dead end."

"That's a good thing, Otacon. They just put themselves into a choke point..." Snake said before cutting himself off "... wait. Appears?"

"Sam, I'm opening the door behind you." Grim said in her trademark calm-under-fire delivery

"What door?" Sam said as he attempted to keep himself alive with a captured SIG P226.

"That wall hides an escape route placed there during the cold war.." Grim said before being cut off by Sam:

"Stow the history lesson, Grim & open the God damned door!"

The hidden door opened and Sam dived in, barely avoiding automatic fire from the now 8 enemies left.

One of the remaining members of the wetwork team called into command post:

"CP, this is Echo Leader. The intruder is boxed in. Over."

"Copy that, Echo Leader. Verify: which intruder? Over."

After sharing confused glances with his teammates, Echo Leader attempted to question CP's last:

" you say 'which intru..."

A round from Snake's G36C ripped through Echo Leader's eye socket, silencing his query.

"CP, this is Echo team! Echo Leader is down and we're engaging a second enemy force. Capabilities unknown."

Snake throws 9-banger in the middle the tightly grouped Echo team & proceeded to engage in his Father's trademark fighting style:

1: Snake disarms & the assault rifle stock meets the mouth of it's former carrier. Hostile down.

2: Snake wraps his hand around the face, places his leg behind the hostile's calf & shoves. Head hits concrete & that's 2 down.

3: Snake's arm hooks under his opponent's arm & with a shift in leverage, the enemy is hip tossed into the wall. That's 3.

4: Snake wrenches in a rear naked choke & slams the enemy's face into the wall. 3 left.

A quick 2 rounds to the head of 2 more tangos leaves Snake face to face with the remaining member of Echo team.

Echo member rushes Snake with his Ka-Bar combat blade, only to be countered. Snake disarms the blade and shoves the point into his opponent's shoulder. Echo member falls to his knees & Snake puts a knee to his jaw, knocking him out.

"Told you, Otacon. Cookie-cutter imitation." Snake quipped, not impressed by Echo team's studying of Big Boss' tactics.

"Grim, there's someone else here. I don't have the ammo to take on those assholes I didn't kill, plus whoever is giving them hell out there. How do I access the escape route?" Sam asked in an unfamiliar tone that told Grim he was worried.

"Sam, it has to be accessed manually."

"It's locked down pretty tight..." Sam answered before turning his attention back to the door locked in front of him. The door was opening.

"Grim, keep this God damned door shut!"

"I'm trying, Sam. I'm being overridden"

"Snake!.." Otacon said over Snake's codec. "Someone's trying to keep me out, but I think... I got it!"

"Sam, I'm sorry. Do whatever you have to do to get out alive." Grim said, breaking her normal calmness

"Damn it..." Sam said under his breath.

The door opened slowly.

Snake readied his G36C.

Sam aims his SIG P226.

The door opens and...


End file.
